A worthy movie

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2005)

I don't think this movie deserves all the bad reviews it's gotten. Sure, it's not the best movie in the world, but it is fun and exciting, and makes you think about some very relevant social issues. The movie is definitely science fiction and action, and will probably appeal most to fans of these kinds of movies.
"The Island" is set a mere 15 years in the future, and it addresses a currently hot social (or is it political?) issue. (Spoiler alert). The main characters in the movie, (played with exquisite sexiness by Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannson) are clones, created for one purpose: to provide replacement body parts for their originals. (End spoiler).
The male, known as Lincoln Six Echo, is the focus of the movie. It is his mind that opens the movie, and forces the rest of the plot. Lincoln is dissatisfied with his life in a sterile underground institution. He and his fellows are told that they are lucky to be alive; that they are the sole survivors of a cataclysmic event that has poisoned the outside world, forcing them all to live in this underground facility. The goal in life of all good inhabitants of the facility is to win "the Lottery." Winning the Lottery means that the person gets to travel to "The island," the last remaining toxin-free paradise on upper earth.
About the time that his good friend Jordan Two Delta (Johannson) wins the Lottery, Lincoln discovers that the real world and their place in it is disastrously different than they have been led to believe. Science fiction meets action when Lincoln begins to take control of his own life, and to help Jordan do likewise.
Lincoln and Jordan are fascinating and unique characters because they are incredibly naïve. Avoiding more spoilers, take my word for it that they have good reason to be naïve. This is interesting because it allows the characters to face simpler issues without dumbing down the movie. For instance, Lincoln is not allowed to have bacon for breakfast, and can't understand why. The audience knows why and can identify with his very real confusion, but they don't have to get all serious and deal with complex emotional issues.
It's easy to find things to criticize about "The Island." There are numerous plot holes, rampant product placement, and so much more the movie could have done. Yet it is still a good movie. It's fun to discuss the plot holes and could-have-beens with your friends, especially for those of us who are interested in how movies are produced. Whether or not you mind the product placement is, I guess, a matter of taste. Personally, I've never been bothered by product placement; I usually don't even notice it.
For the intellectual among us, "The Island" offers lots of fodder for discussion. For fans of science fiction and action, it is a worthy contribution to these genres.